Management of mobile objects

ABSTRACT

An embodiment of the invention may include a method, computer program product and computer system for managing mobile objects. The embodiment may acquire, by a first acquiring section, measurement data obtained by a first mobile object measuring the first mobile object, using a sensor of the first mobile object. The embodiment may acquire, by a second section, data obtained by a second mobile object detecting the first mobile object in response to a request from outside, using a sensor of the second mobile object. The embodiment may verify, by a verifying section, a validity of the measurement data using the detection data.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to management of the movement of mobileobjects.

Conventionally, a high-speed driving support and automobile system isknown that receives information by communicating with a plurality ofautomobiles, acquires information concerning accidents or obstructionson the road and maps this information onto a map along with the positionof an automobile, and references automobile position information,automobile characteristic information, driver characteristicinformation, and the like, and transmits suitable event information toeach automobile.

The hardware and software installed in the vehicles using such a systemare often primitive, and are therefore easy to modify and alter.Furthermore, there are cases where viruses, malware, or the like areinstalled in the hardware or software that is installed in theautomobiles. In such a case, transmission of falsified data against thewill of the user, attacks on the system, or the like can occur. Suchattacks on the system or the like destabilize the operation of thesystem, and alteration, falsification, or the like of driving recordscauses a drop in the reliability of the system.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the invention may include a method, computer programproduct and computer system for managing mobile objects. The embodimentmay acquire, by a first acquiring section, measurement data obtained bya first mobile object measuring the first mobile object, using a sensorof the first mobile object. The embodiment may acquire, by a secondsection, data obtained by a second mobile object detecting the firstmobile object in response to a request from outside, using a sensor ofthe second mobile object. The embodiment may verify, by a verifyingsection, a validity of the measurement data using the detection data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a system 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention and a map area corresponding to a geographic space managed bythe system 100.

FIG. 2 shows a subsystem 200 according to the embodiment of the presentinvention and a map area corresponding to a region A managed by thesubsystem 200.

FIG. 3 shows a first exemplary configuration of the system 100 accordingto the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows management of events by the event server 210 and the mobileobject server 220 according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows management of mobile object by the mobile object server 220and object server 230 according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an operational flow of an exemplary configuration of thesystem 100 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows an operational flow of S620 according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an operational flow of S650 according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative example of an event list.

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative example of a candidate event list.

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative example of a notification event list.

FIG. 12 shows a mobile object 10 and events according to one embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows an operational flow of S660 according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 14 shows a second exemplary configuration of the system 100according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 shows a third exemplary configuration of the system 100according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 16 shows a schematic exemplary configuration relating to the datatransmitting and receiving of the system 100 of the third exemplaryconfiguration according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 17 shows a portion of an operational flow of the system 100according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary operational flow of the first mobile object12 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 19 shows an exemplary operational flow of the second mobile object14 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 20 shows an exemplary operational flow of the reliability judgingsection 330 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 21 shows a fourth exemplary configuration of the system 100according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 22 shows a computer according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying Figures.

FIG. 1 shows a system 100 and a map area corresponding to a geographicspace managed by the system 100, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The system 100 manages a geographic space thatincludes routes on which a mobile object 10 moves. The system 100 isoperable to divide the geographic space into a plurality of regions andmanage these regions. A mobile object 10 may move on routes includingland routes, sea routes, and/or air routes, for example. The geographicspace may be land, sea, or air space that includes the routes on whichthe mobile object travels. The mobile objects 10 may be manned/unmannedautomobiles, motorbikes, bicycles, humans having a digital device,airplanes, vessels, drones, or the like.

FIG. 1 shows an automobile as an example of the mobile object 10, whichmoves along roads as examples of land routes. The system 100 includes aplurality of subsystems 200 that respectively manage the plurality ofregions. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the map area is divided intosix regions from region A to region F, and six subsystems 200respectively manage these six regions.

System 100 comprises a plurality of event servers 210, a plurality ofmobile object servers 220, a plurality of object servers 230, and aplurality of passenger servers 240. According to the embodiment of FIG.1, each of the subsystems 200 may include at least one of the pluralityof event servers 210 and one of the plurality of mobile object servers220.

The event server 210 manages events occurring in each region of thegeographic space. In one embodiment, the event server 210 of subsystem200 assigned to region A may manage events in region A. The plurality ofmobile object servers 220 respectively assigned to a plurality ofregions in a geographic space manage the mobile objects 10 in each ofthe plurality of regions. In one embodiment, the mobile object server220 assigned to region A may manages mobile objects 10 located in regionA. The object server 230 manages information of the mobile objects 10regardless of the location of the mobile objects 10. The passengerserver 240 manages information of at least one passenger riding on themobile objects 10.

Each of the subsystems 200 may be implemented on one or more servers. Inone embodiment, each event server 210 and mobile object server 220 maybe implemented on one server. In one embodiment, a set of an eventserver 210 and a mobile object server 220 in a subsystem 200 may beimplemented by one server. Portions of the system 100 other than thesubsystems 200 may also be implemented on one or more servers. In oneembodiment, each object server 230 and passenger server 240 may beimplemented on one server. In another embodiment, a set of objectservers 230 and a set of passenger servers 240 may be each implementedby one server. In yet another embodiment, all of the object servers 230and the passenger servers 240 may be implemented on one server. Theseservers may exist at any point on a network including the Internet, asubscriber network, a cellular network, or a desired combination ofnetworks. The servers may be computers or other types of dataprocessors, and may be dedicated servers, or may be shared servers thatperform other operations.

The system 100 acquires the positions of a mobile object 10 from themobile object 10, and the mobile object server 220 managing the regionthat includes the acquired position of the mobile object 10 may managethe movement of this mobile object 10. The system 100 acquiresinformation of events that have occurred to the mobile object 10 and/oron the road outside, and the event server 210 managing the regionincluding the position where such an event has occurred may manage thestate of the event.

This event may include information about accidents, obstructions,closure, limitation, status, or construction on the road, or informationabout the weather, temperature, buildings, shops, or parking lots nearthe road. In response to a setting or a request from the mobile object10, the subsystem 200 may provide notification about the eventinformation to the mobile object 10 that made the request. For example,if the mobile object 10 is moving on a route in a geographical areacorresponding to region A, then the mobile object server 220 managingregion A provides this mobile object 10 with the notification about theevent relating to the route.

Since the map area is divided into a plurality of regions, despite themobile object 10 simply moving on a route, the region corresponding tothe position of the mobile object 10 might change. FIG. 1 shows anexample in which the mobile object 10 is driving on a road such that theposition of the mobile object 10 moves from region A to region B on theregions. In this case, according to the movement of the mobile object10, the system 100 may transfer the information concerning the mobileobject 10 from the mobile object server 220 managing region A to themobile object server 220 managing region B, and may also transfer themanagement of the mobile object 10 to the mobile object server 220managing region B.

FIG. 2 shows a subsystem 200 and a map area corresponding to a region Amanaged by the subsystem 200, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The event server 210 manages at least one event agent, andexecutes each event agent to manage events on routes in a regionassigned to the event server 210. An “agent” may be a software entityhaving specific data, and may operable to receive a message (e.g.command), and return a result of the message. Each region of theplurality of regions of geographic space includes at least a portion ofone area of the plurality of areas. In this embodiment, the regionassigned to the event server 210 is the same as the region assigned tothe mobile object server 220. However, in other embodiments, theseregions may be different.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the region A, which is the region assignedto the event server 210, is divided into 16 areas and 16 areas areassigned to each of the event agents EA1-EA16. The event server 210executes each of the event agents EA1-EA16 to manage events occurring onroutes of each area of region A. For example, the event agent EA2 maymanage a “closure” event on an area corresponding to EA2 on the map, andthe event agent EA4 may manage a “speed limit” event on an areacorresponding to EA4 as shown in FIG. 2.

The plurality of mobile object servers 220 may include at least onemobile object server 220 including one or more mobile object agents,each of which is assigned to each of the mobile objects 10. In theembodiment of FIG. 2, the mobile object server 220 includes three mobileobject agents MOAs 1-3 assigned to three mobile objects 10 in theassigned region A. The mobile object server 220 executes each of themobile object agents MOA1-MOA3 to manage the mobile objects 10 travelingon the region A.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary configuration of the system 100, according toan embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 may be operableto communicate with each of a plurality of mobile objects 10 to send andreceive the information used to manage the mobile objects 10. The system100 may be operable to acquire map data and/or information exchangedwith the mobile objects 10, through the Internet, a subscriber network,a cellular network, or any desired combination of networks. The system100 includes an acquiring section 110, a dividing section 130, a regionmanager 140, a receiving section 150, a transmitting section 152, agateway apparatus 160, a plurality of subsystems 200, a plurality ofobject servers 230, and a plurality of passenger servers 240.

The acquiring section 110 may be operable to acquire map datacorresponding to the geographical areas where a mobile object 10 ispositioned, from an external database 30, for example. In response tothe map being updated, the acquiring section 110 may acquire some or allof the updated map data. The acquiring section 110 may be operable toacquire the map data from the Internet, a subscriber network, a cellularnetwork, or any desired combination of networks. The system 100 may beoperable to store the map data in advance.

The acquiring section 110 may further acquire an event that has occurredwithin the geographic space to be managed by the system 100. In thiscase, the acquiring section 110 may acquire, accident information,traffic information, weather information, time information, etc.

The dividing section 130 may be operable to communicate with theacquiring section 110 and divide the map area into a plurality ofregions. In this embodiment, the dividing section 130 generates twogroups of regions by dividing an original map area into a plurality ofregions.

The region manager 140 may be operable to store information concerningthe plurality of regions including the regions resulting from thedivision. The region manager 140 may be operable to specify thesubsystem 200 managing the region that includes the position of themobile object 10, in response to receiving the position of the mobileobject 10. The region manager 140 may be implemented on one or moreservers. The region manager 140 includes a storage section 142 and adetermining section 146.

The storage section 142 may be operable to communicate with the dividingsection 130 and store information concerning the plurality of firstregions and the plurality of second regions resulting from the divisionby the dividing section 130. The storage section 142 may store settingvalues or the like of the system 100.

The storage section 142 may store intermediate data, calculationresults, threshold values, parameters, and the like that are generatedby or used in the operations of the system 100. In response to a requestfrom any component within the system 100, the storage section 142 maysupply the data stored therein to the component making the request. Thestorage section 142 may be a computer readable storage medium such as anelectric storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storagedevice, an electromagnetic storage device, or a semiconductor storagedevice.

The determining section 146 may be operable to communicate with thestorage section 142, and determine one region from the plurality ofregions (e.g., regions A-F of FIG. 1) in which each of the mobileobjects 10 is located based on the position information of the mobileobject 10 and geographic information of the plurality of regions. Thedetermining section 146 may identify a route or position in the map areamanaged by the system 100 that corresponds to the position informationof the mobile object 10.

The determining section 146 may store the position information of thismobile object 10 and/or information of the determined region in thestorage section 142, in association with this mobile object 10. Thedetermining section 146 may store a history of the position informationof this mobile object 10 and/or a history of the determined mobileobject server 220 in the storage section 142. The determining section146 may be a circuit, a shared or dedicated computer readable mediumstoring computer readable program instructions executable by a shared ordedicated processor, etc.

The receiving section 150 may be operable to receive informationtransmitted from each of a plurality of mobile objects 10. Each mobileobject 10 may transmit information at designated time intervals, and thereceiving section 150 may sequentially receive this transmittedinformation. In this embodiment, the receiving section 150 may receivecar probe data from each mobile object 10 as the information. The carprobe data may include information detected by the mobile object 10,such as position information of the mobile object 10.

In one embodiment, the position information may include longitude andlatitude (and optionally altitude information) of the mobile object 10in an absolute coordinate system. In another embodiment, the mobileobject 10 may determine its location in the absolute coordinate systemby using GPS, and the determining section 146 receiving the positioninformation may determine a route on which the mobile object 10 existsand a specific location of the route at which the mobile object 10exists based on the position information. Alternatively, the mobileobject 10 may include such detailed position information in the carprobe data.

The receiving section 150 may communicate with the plurality of mobileobjects 10 and receive the car probe data of each mobile object 10, viathe Internet 40. The receiving section 150 may receive the car probedata of the plurality of mobile objects 10 through wirelesscommunication, a subscriber network, a cellular network, or any desiredcombination of networks.

The transmitting section 152 may be operable to transmit eventinformation to each of the mobile objects 10 according to settings, forexample. The transmitting section 152 may transmit informationconcerning the route on which the mobile object 10 is expected totravel. The transmitting section 152 may communicate with the mobileobjects 10 and transmit each type of information to the mobile objects10 via the Internet 40. The transmitting section 152 may transmit eachtype of information to the mobile objects 10 through wirelesscommunication, a subscriber network, a cellular network, or any desiredcombination of networks.

The gateway apparatus 160 may be operable to transfer communicationbetween the plurality of subsystems 200 and the plurality of mobileobjects 10. The gateway apparatus 160 may communicate with the receivingsection 150 and receive the information transmitted by each mobileobject 10.

The gateway apparatus 160 may communicate with the region manager 140and demand the transfer destination for each piece of informationreceived from the mobile objects 10, of the region manager 140. Inresponse to this request, the gateway apparatus 160 may receive from theregion manager 140 the information of the subsystem 200 managing theregion on which the mobile object 10 exists. The gateway apparatus 160may transfer the information received from the mobile object 10 to thesubsystem 200 that is to manage the mobile object 10. In other words,the gateway apparatus 160 may transfer the information received fromeach mobile object 10 to the subsystem 200 determined by the regionmanager 140.

The gateway apparatus 160 may communicate with each of the subsystems200, and receive the information transmitted by each subsystem 200. Thegateway apparatus 160 may communicate with the transmitting section 152and supply the transmitting section 152 with the information receivedfrom each subsystem 200, such that this information is transferred tothe mobile objects 10 designated for each subsystem 200.

The gateway apparatus 160 may include a plurality of gateway devices,and may quickly perform transfer between the plurality of subsystems 200and the plurality of mobile objects 10. In this case, the receivingsection 150 may function as a load balancer that supplies theinformation from the mobile objects 10, such that the load is spreadamong the plurality of gateways. The load balancer may sequentiallysupply information from the mobile objects 10 to the gateways havinglighter loads. The gateway apparatus 160 may be a network that providesa connection between a plurality of networks using the same or differenttypes of protocols.

A plurality of subsystems 200 may be operable to communicate with theregion manager 140 and the gateway apparatus 160 and to respectivelymanage a plurality of regions in a geographic space. Each subsystem 200is operable to manage mobile objects 10 that travel routes in itsmanaging region and to manage events on its managing region.

As described, each subsystem 200 may include the event server 210 andthe mobile object server 220. The event server 210 manages eventsoccurring on its managing region with the plurality of the event agents.In one embodiment, the event server 210 may perform, through the eventagent, (i) registration, update and/or deletion of events, (ii)registration, update and/or deletion of candidate events, and (iii)provision of event information.

The mobile object server 220 manages the plurality of the mobile objects10 traveling on its managing region with the plurality of the mobileobject agents. In one embodiment, the mobile object server 220 mayperform, through the mobile object agent, (i) processing of the carprobe data, (ii) update of information of the mobile object, and (iii)provision of information to the mobile object. For example, the mobileobject server 220 may execute the mobile object agent to collectinformation of events from at least one event server 210, and providethe mobile object 10 with information that assists the mobile object 10with traveling in the geographic space.

A plurality of object servers 230 including at least one object server230 may communicate with the gate way 160 and include an object agent(OA) containing information of the mobile object 10. An object agent maycorrespond to each mobile object 10 and contain information thereof. Inone embodiment, the object agent may contain (i) information, by region,of which subsystem currently manages a mobile object agent of the mobileobject 10, (ii) an identification (ID) of the mobile object 10, (iii) anID of a passenger of the mobile object 10, and (iv) a characteristic ofthe mobile object 10 (e.g., model/version information, width, length,and/or height of the mobile object 10).

The object server 230 may perform, through the object agent, (i)provision and/or update of information of the mobile object 10, (ii)registration, update, and/or deletion of the ID of passenger riding onthe mobile object 10, (iii) provision and/or update of the informationof the region of the mobile object 10, and (iv) provision of informationneeded for generation of a new mobile object agent by the mobile objectserver 220.

At least one passenger server 240 of a plurality of passenger serversmay communicate with the gateway 160, and include a passenger agent thatcontains information of at least one passenger. A passenger agent maycorrespond to each passenger or candidate passenger of mobile objects10, and contain information thereof. In one embodiment, the object agentmay contain an ID of a passenger and a characteristic of the passenger(e.g., information of age, gender, type, and the like of license of thepassenger). The passenger server 240 may perform, through the passengeragent, provision and/or update of information of the passengers.

As described above, the system 100 of the present embodiment may managethe mobile objects by utilizing the mobile object agents in each mobileobject server 220, and manage the events by utilizing the event agent ineach event server 210. According to the system 100 of the embodiment,the system 100 can separately manage information relating to the mobileobjects 10 and events on the geographic map with a plurality of kinds ofservers. Furthermore, the plurality of mobile object servers 220 cansmoothly transfer the management of the mobile objects 10 travelingacross the regions via the mobile object agents, thereby improving theefficiency of the whole system 100. In addition, according to the system100 of the embodiment, each event server 210 divides event management inone region among the plurality of event agents and provides the mobileobject agent with event information, thereby improving the efficiency ofevent management in the region (e.g., improving response time of eventsearch) and thus event notification to the mobile objects 10. Inaddition, the system 100 can provide the mobile object agent withinformation of mobile object 10 by the object agent of the object server230. The system 100 can also provide the mobile object agent withinformation of passengers of the mobile objects 10 by the passengeragent of the passenger server 240.

FIG. 4 shows management of events by the event server 210 and the mobileobject server 220, according to an embodiment of the present invention.In this embodiment, a mobile object 10 is traveling on a target route onregion A and transmitting a car probe data including the positioninformation to the event server 210 managing region A with the car probedata via a gateway apparatus, such as the gateway apparatus 160. Theevent server 210 manages event information through each event agentbased on the car probe data from the mobile objects on region A. Forexample, each event agent may manage an event list (containinginformation of an event and an influence event for routes on the areamanaged by the event agent) and a candidate event list (containinginformation of candidates of an event for routes on the area managed bythe event agent).

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the event agent EA2 manages events of anarea (indicated as “DA2” on the region A of FIG. 4) by the event list ofthe event agent EA2 and the candidate event list of the event agent EA2based on car probe data from the mobile object 10 on the area DA2. Forexample, the event agent EA2 assigned to the area DA2 is executable togenerate an event based on the information from the mobile object 10.

In one embodiment, each mobile object server 220 is operable to receiveinformation from the mobile object 10 in the region A assigned to themobile object server 220. The mobile object server 220 determines thetarget route where the mobile object 10 is located. The mobile objectserver 220 sends the information to one event server 210 assigned to aregion A where the mobile object 10 is located, and thereby requests theevent agent EA2 assigned to the area DA2 where the target route islocated to send an event list containing information of an event on thetarget route and the influence event of the target route.

The mobile object server 220 executes the mobile object agent MOA1 forthe mobile object 10 to provide the mobile object 10 with informationthat assists the mobile object 10 with traveling in the area DA2 basedon the information of the event on the other route and the influenceevent of the target route. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the mobileobject agent MOA1 receives, from the event agent EA2, the eventinformation of the route on which the mobile object 10 exists, andprovides the mobile object 10 with the event information (e.g.,information of closure).

FIG. 5 shows management of a mobile object 10 by the mobile objectservers 220 and object server 230, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The mobile object server 220-1 may transfer themobile object agent via the gateway 160 to the mobile object server220-2 assigned to a neighboring region in response to the mobile object10 moving to the neighboring region. In this embodiment, in response toa mobile object 10 traveling from region A to region B, the mobileobject server 220-1 managing region A deletes the mobile object agentMOA for the mobile object 10, and a mobile object server 220-2 managingregion B generates a mobile object agent MOA for the mobile object 10.

In this embodiment, the object server 230 may store information thatincludes a mobile object server identifier MOS-ID that identifies one ofthe plurality of mobile object servers 220 executing the mobile objectagent corresponding to the object agent 10. Just after the mobile object10 arrives at region B, the mobile object server 220-2 has not beenexecuting the mobile object agent for the mobile object 10. The mobileobject server 220-2 is operable to receive information from the mobileobject 10 in the region B assigned to the mobile object server 220-2.

Using the information from the mobile object 10, the mobile objectserver 220-2 obtains the mobile object server identifier MOS-ID from theobject server 230 that manages the object agent for the mobile object 10because the mobile object server 220-2 is not executing the mobileobject agent for the mobile object 10. The mobile object server 220-2requests a mobile object server 220-1 identified by the mobile objectserver identifier MOS-ID to transfer the mobile object agent for themobile object 10. Then the mobile object server 220-1 managing region Atransfers the mobile object agent to the mobile object server 220-2assigned to a neighboring region B in response to the request.

FIG. 6 shows an operational flow of a system, according to an embodimentof the present invention. The present embodiment describes an example inwhich the system 100 performs the operations from S610 to S680 shown inFIG. 6 to manage mobile objects, such as mobile object 10, and events ona map area. FIG. 6 shows one example of the operational flow of thesystem 100 shown in FIGS. 1-5, but the system 100 shown in FIGS. 1-5 isnot limited to using this operational flow explained below. Also, theoperational flow in FIG. 6 may be performed by other systems.

First, an acquiring section, such as the acquiring section 110, mayacquire the map data of the geographic space to be managed by the system(S610). The acquiring section may acquire map data of a geographic spacethat includes one or more cities, one or more towns, and the like. Theacquiring section may include map data of a geographic space includingone or more states, countries, continents, etc. A dividing section, suchas the dividing section 130, may divide the map area to generate aplurality of regions.

Next, the system may perform an initialization process for the mobileobject (S620). The system may perform the process of S620 if a user(passenger) initializes a setting of a mobile object and any passengersof the mobile object, before starting to drive the mobile object.

After S620, a gateway apparatus, such as the gateway apparatus 160, ofthe system may acquire a car probe data from the mobile object (S630).Although the system may acquire the car probe data from the plurality ofthe mobile objects, the system acquiring a car probe data from onemobile object (which, may be referred to as “a target mobile object”) isexplained in the below description. The car probe data may includeinformation detected by the target mobile object, such as currentposition information of the target mobile object, a speed and/ordirection of the target mobile object, and event information observed bythe target mobile object (e.g., occurrence of ABS, detection ofobstacles, or the like). In one embodiment, the position information mayinclude an edge ID of an edge on which the target mobile object existsand the distance between the current location of the target mobileobject and the one end of the edge.

Next, the gateway apparatus may determine a region on which the targetmobile object is traveling based on the position information of the carprobe data of the target mobile object (S640). In one embodiment, thegateway apparatus may inquire a region manager, such as the regionmanager 140, about the region on which the mobile object exists. Adetermining section, such as the determining section 146, of the regionmanager may determine the region the target mobile object and providethe gateway apparatus with the information of the region of the targetmobile object. The gateway apparatus may provide an event server, suchas the event server 210, that manages the determined region and a mobileobject server, such as the mobile object server 220, that manages thedetermined region with the car probe data.

Next, the event server that is provided with the car probe data of thetarget mobile object may process events for the mobile objects (S650).The event server may manage event information based on the car probedata for notification of events to the target mobile object.

After S650, the mobile object server that is provided with the car probedata of the target mobile object may manage a mobile object agent forthe target mobile object (S660).

After S660, the system determines whether to end the process for thetarget mobile object at S680. In one embodiment, the gateway apparatusmay determine whether the car probe date indicates the engine stop ofthe target mobile object. If the system determines not to end theprocess, then the system proceeds with the process of S630 for thetarget mobile object. If the system determines to end the process, thenthe system ends the process for the target mobile object, and maycontinue the process for other mobile objects.

As described above, the system manages mobile objects by utilizingmobile object agents realized by the plurality of the mobile objectservers. Since the system can transfer the mobile object agent betweenthe mobile object servers, it can efficiently manage the mobile objectstraveling around the plurality of regions. Furthermore, the systemcollects car probe data from the mobile objects and manages eventsgenerated from the car probe data by utilizing the event agents. Sinceeach event server divides a number of events occurring on its managingregions into a plurality of areas by utilizing the event agents, it canefficiently handle event information.

The process of S610 may be performed once before starting processesS620-S680. The process of S620-S680 may be performed for every mobileobject.

FIG. 7 shows an operational flow of an initialization process for amobile object, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thepresent embodiment describes an example in which the system performs aninitialization process, such as the initialization process of S620 ofFIG. 6, through processes S621 to S623 shown in FIG. 7.

First, a gateway apparatus receives a setting data (including an ID ofthe mobile object, an ID(s) of passenger(s) and position information ofthe mobile object) from the mobile object (S621). The gateway apparatusdetermines one mobile object server that manages the mobile object basedon the position information of the mobile object. The gateway apparatusprovides the determined mobile object server with the setting data.Then, the determined mobile object server obtains information (e.g.,ID(s) of the passenger(s)) of at least one passenger of the mobileobject from the setting data of the mobile object.

Then, the mobile object server may request the object agent of theobject server for the mobile object to store the information of the atleast one passenger of the mobile object (S622). For example, eachmobile object may be mapped to each object agent of the object serversbased on values of the IDs of the mobile objects, and the mobile objectserver may identify one object agent corresponding to the ID of themobile object based on the calculation using the ID. Then, the mobileobject server may provide the object server managing the identifiedobject agent with the setting data including the position information,the ID of the mobile object, and ID(s) of passenger(s) of the mobileobject via the gateway apparatus.

Next, the object server stores the information of passenger(s) on anobject agent. In one embodiment, each of passengers may be preliminarilymapped to each of the passenger servers based on values of the IDs ofpassengers, and the passenger servers may have information ofpassengers. The object server may identify one passenger servercorresponding to the ID of a passenger based on the calculation usingthe ID. The object server may receive, via the gateway apparatus, theinformation of passengers from the passenger server corresponding to theID. Then, the object server may store or update the information of themobile object and the passengers of the mobile object, in the objectagent for the mobile object. The object server may include theinformation of a region that the mobile object currently exists, in theobject agent.

Next, the mobile object server 220 managing the region in which themobile object 10 exists generates a new mobile object agent for themobile object 10 (S623). In one embodiment, the mobile object server 220may copy the information of the object agent for the mobile object 10 tothe newly generated mobile object agent. For example, the mobile objectserver 220 may store the information of the mobile object 10 and theinformation of the at least one passenger of the mobile object 10 in thenewly generated mobile object agent for the mobile object 10.

FIG. 8 shows an operational flow of event processing, according to anembodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment describes anexample in which the system performs event processing, such as the eventprocessing of S650 of FIG. 6, through processes S651 to S659 shown inFIG. 8.

First, the event server may identify an event agent (S651). In oneembodiment, the event server determines one event agent from theplurality of event agents based on the position information of thetarget mobile object. The determined event agent may be referred to as“target event agent.” For example, the event server determines a targetroute (or an edge of the map data) of the target mobile object based onthe position information and the map data, and selects, as a targetevent agent, an event agent that manages an area including the targetroute of the target mobile object indicated by the car probe data. Inanother embodiment, the car probe data of a target mobile object mayinclude the information of the target route of the target mobile object.

Next, the event server may edit event lists by the target event agentbased on the car probe data (S652). In one embodiment, the target eventagent may generate or update information of events (e.g., an edge thatan event occurs, an event ID, a location of an event, and content ofevent) of the target route on the event list based on information of thecar probe data. The event of the target route may be referred to as a“target event.”

Next, the event server may search, by the target event agent, aninfluence event on the target route on the area of the target eventagent based on the car probe data (S653). The influence event of thetarget route relates to an event on another route within a thresholddistance (e.g., a threshold travelling distance of the target route, athreshold number of edges away from the target route, and/or a thresholdtravelling time from the target route).

In one embodiment, the target event agent itself may search routes (oredge IDs) apart from the target route within the threshold distancebased on the topology information of routes in the regions, or mayrequest other entities (e.g., a server) to search for routes (or edgeIDs).

Next, the event server may determine whether the event list of thetarget event agent includes event entries corresponding to all influenceevents of the target route searched at S653 (S654). In one embodiment,the target event agent determines whether edges of the influence eventsare listed as edge IDs of events in the event list.

If an area managed by a target event agent includes the routes (edges)of all influence events relating to an event, then an event list of thetarget event agent includes corresponding event entries of all influenceevents. However, if the routes (edges) of any influence events aremanaged by other event agents, then the event list may not includecorresponding event entries of all influence events. If the decision ispositive, then the event server proceeds with the process S656 and ifnegative, the event server proceeds with the process S655.

At S655, the event server may edit a notification event ID list by thetarget event agent. The notification event ID list includes IDs ofinfluence events and edge IDs of the influence events that aredetermined to be not included in the event list of the target eventagent at S654. In other words, the notification event ID list is a listof event IDs of influence events that are not managed by the targetevent agent. Then, the event server may proceed with the process ofS656.

At S656, the event server may edit a notification event list for thetarget mobile object, by the target event agent. The notification eventlist is a list of events that may be helpful to the target mobile objecttraveling on the target route. The notification event list may includetarget events and influence events of the target events. The targetevent agent may add entries of the target events and the influenceevents in its managing event list for notification.

Next, the event server determines, by the target event agent, whetherthe notification event ID list has at least one entry at S657. If thedecision is positive, then the event server proceeds with the process ofS658, and if negative, then the event server ends the process of S650.

At S658, the event server may identify, by the target event agent, anevent agent that manages an event list including events in thenotification event ID list. The determined event agent may be referredto as “remote event agent.”

Next, the event server may acquire information of events in thenotification event ID list (S659), and end the process S650. In oneembodiment, the target event agent may receive information of events inthe notification event ID list from the remote event agent, and edit thenotification event list based on the acquired information. In anotherembodiment, the target event agent may add entries of the influenceevents in the notification event ID list based on the acquiredinformation.

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative example of an event list, according to anembodiment of the present invention. As described in FIG. 9, the eventlist may include edge IDs of events, event IDs of events, locations ofevents, specific contents of events, and influence events relating toevents. In this embodiment, each route is represented as “edge.” Forexample, this event list indicates that an event (identified as “Eve0214”) has occurred along the full length of edge 0001 on the area, thatthe event has limited the speed to 30 km/h, and that edge 0001 includesan influence event identified as “Eve 0114.” The event list alsoindicates that an event (identified as “Eve 0114” on edge 0002) hasoccurred 32 m from the 1st node on edge 0002 on the area, that the eventis a closure of a route, and that “Eve 0114” includes influence eventsidentified as “Eve 0214” on edge 0001, “Eve 0421” on edge 0003, etc. Inone embodiment, the target event agent may add a new entry correspondingto an event detected by the car probe data, in the event list.

According to the first entry in the event list of FIG. 9, the edge 0001has influence event 0114. This may mean that a mobile object travelingon the edge 0001 is influenced by the event 0114 that has occurred apartfrom edge 0001 within a threshold distance. In response to receiving thecar probe data including the position information indicating that thetarget mobile object is traveling on the edge 0001, the target eventagent searches and obtains routes (edge IDs) apart from the target route(edge 0001) within the threshold distance, and then finds neighboringedge 0002 as a result. In response to receiving the car probe dataincluding the position information of the edge 0001, the target eventagent determines whether the edge of influence event (edge 0002)corresponding to the target route is listed as edge IDs in the eventlist.

The target event agent assigned to the area may generate or update acandidate event based on information from the target mobile object. Inone embodiment, the target event agent may generate or update candidateevents on the candidate event list including information of a pluralityof edges on the area of the event agent based on information of the carprobe data.

Although the event list of FIG. 9 includes information of influenceevents, the information of the influence events may be managed byanother list. In one embodiment, the event agent may manage both a firstevent list containing information of an event on the target route and asecond event list containing information of the influence event.

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative example of a candidate event list,according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described inFIG. 10, the event list may include edge IDs of candidate events, countsof detecting candidate events, locations of candidate events, andspecific contents of candidate events for each candidate event. Forexample, this candidate event list indicates that evidence of an event(congestion) has been observed twice along the full length of edge 0009on the area, and that evidence of an event (skid) has been observed onceat a point 15 m from the 2nd node on edge 0013 on the area.

The target event agent may determine whether to change a candidate eventin the candidate event list to an event in the event list. In oneembodiment, the target event agent may upgrade the candidate event tothe event based on information from other mobile objects. In this case,the target event agent counts occurrences of a candidate event observedby a plurality of mobile objects (including the target mobile object andother mobile objects). If the count of a candidate event exceeds athreshold value, then the target event agent determines that thecandidate event is upgraded to an event. In one embodiment, in responseto the upgrade, the target event agent deletes the entry of thecandidate event from the candidate event list, and generates a new entryof an event corresponding to the deleted candidate event. The eventservers may set the same or different criteria for upgrading candidateevents among the plurality of event agents.

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative example of a notification event list,according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described inFIG. 11, the notification event list may include edge IDs oftarget/influence events, event IDs of target/influence events, locationsof target/influence events, and specific contents of target/influenceevents. For example, this notification event list indicates that anevent (speed limit) has occurred along the full length of edge 0001 onthe area, and that an event (closure) has occurred at a point 32 m fromthe 1st node on edge 0002 on the area.

FIG. 12 shows a mobile object and events, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 12, the target mobileobject 10 is traveling eastbound on the edge 0001, which is the targetroute. The target event agent EA1 manages an area including the edge0001, the edge 0002, the edge 0101, and the edge 0102, and theneighboring event agent EA2 manages an area including the edge 0003, theedge 0103, and the edge 0104.

Direction dependent edges are described in FIG. 12. However, edges maynot be direction dependent according other embodiments, and in suchembodiments, the event agent may manage events, candidate events, andinfluence events with direction information. The target event agent EA1manages an event (Eve 0214) on the edge 0001 as the target event in theevent list. Since the edge 0002 is apart from the edge 0001 within thethreshold distance, the target event agent EA1 also manages an event(Eve 0114) on the edge 0002 as an influence event in the event list. Thetarget event agent EA1 manages a notification event list including thetarget event (Eve 0214) and the influence event (Eve 0114) for thetarget mobile object 10.

In the embodiment of FIG. 12, the mobile object agent managing targetmobile object requests the event agent EA1 that manages the target event(e.g., Eve 0214) and the influence event (e.g., Eve 0114) to send thenotification event list including the target event and the influenceevent. In another embodiment, the mobile object agent may request theremote event agent EA2 that manages the information of influenceevent(s) (e.g., Eve 0421) to send a notification event list containinginformation of the influence event(s) if the influence event is locatedoutside of the area including the target route (Edge 0001).

FIG. 13 shows an operational flow of mobile object processing, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. The present embodimentdescribes an example in which the system manages the target mobileobject, such as in S660 of FIG. 6, through processes S661 to S669 shownin FIG. 13.

At S661, the mobile object server may determine whether the mobileobject agent for the target mobile object exists in the regiondetermined to be the region of the mobile object, such as the regiondetermined at S640. In other words, the mobile object server determineswhether the mobile object server manages the mobile object agent of thetarget mobile object. If the decision is positive, then the mobileobject server proceeds with the process S667, and if negative, themobile object server proceeds with the process S662.

At S662, the mobile object server may identify an object server thatincludes the object agent containing the information of the targetmobile object. In one embodiment, the mobile object server may identifythe object server in the same manner described in S622.

Next, at S663, the mobile object server may inquire the object server230 identified at S662 for the location of the mobile object agent ofthe target mobile object. The object server may refer to the objectagent of the target mobile object, obtain information of the mobileobject server that currently manages the mobile object agent MOA of thetarget mobile object, if it exists, and provide the mobile object serverwith the information.

Next, the mobile object server may determine whether the mobile objectagent for the target mobile object exists in any other regions. In otherwords, the mobile object server may determine which mobile object servermanages the mobile object agent for the target mobile object from theplurality of mobile object servers managing other regions, at S664. Ifthe decision is positive, then the mobile object server proceeds withthe process S666, and if negative the mobile object server proceeds withthe process S665.

At S665, the mobile object server generates a new mobile object agentMOA for the target mobile object. The mobile object server may generatethe mobile object agent MOA for the target mobile object by obtaininginformation of the target mobile object from the object server thatincludes the object agent containing the information of the targetmobile object. In one embodiment, the mobile object server may generatethe new mobile object agent in the same manner described in S623. Themobile object server may also communicate with the object server via thegateway apparatus, and register the current region of the target mobileobject in the object agent corresponding to the target mobile object. Bygenerating the new mobile object agent, the system can handle a newmobile object 10 that has been not managed by the mobile object server.

At S666, the mobile object server may transfer the mobile object agentfrom the other mobile object server determined to manage the mobileobject agent for the target mobile object at S664. In one embodiment,the mobile object server may receive information of the mobile objectagent for the target mobile object from the other mobile object server,and generate a new mobile object agent including the receivedinformation. The mobile object server may also communicate with theobject server via the gateway apparatus, and register the current regionof the target mobile object in the object agent of the target mobileobject.

Next, at S667, the mobile object server may receive a notification eventlist for the target mobile object. In one embodiment, the mobile objectserver first determines the target route where the target mobile objectis located. Then, the mobile object server may request the event agentthat manages the information of target event(s) and influence event(s)corresponding to the target route to send a notification event listcontaining information of the target event(s) and influence event(s) ofthe target route.

At S668, the mobile object server may update the current location of thetarget mobile object by the mobile object agent. In one embodiment, themobile object agent for the target mobile object updates the currentlocation of the target mobile object based on the position informationof the car probe data.

At S669, the mobile object server may execute the mobile object agentfor the target mobile object to provide the target mobile object withinformation that assists the target mobile object with traveling in thegeographic space based on the information included in the event list. Inone embodiment, the mobile object agent may provide the target mobileobject with information of events on the notification event list.

In one embodiment, the at least one mobile object server may execute themobile object agent for the target mobile object to provide the targetmobile object with information that assists the target mobile objectwith traveling in the geographic space based on the information of theat least one passenger of the target mobile object. For example, themobile object agent may provide the target mobile object with an alert,a notice, and/or an action list relating events on the notificationevent list depending on a number of passengers (e.g., for guiding a carpool lane), the age, gender, license, real time information (e.g.,driving history or sleep history), and characteristics of thepassengers.

The action list is a list of actions recommended to passengers inresponse to the events (e.g., braking, accelerating, and/or steering ofthe target mobile object).

The action list may include commands to the target mobile object forautomatic driving and/or driving assist. In one embodiment, the mobileobject agent may include information that the passenger is sensitive torough driving, and then the mobile object agent may provide commands togently drive the target mobile object. In one embodiment, the mobileobject agent may include information of driving skill of a driverpassenger, and then provide different commands depending on the skill ofthe driver. The mobile object server may provide the target mobileobject with the information via the gateway apparatus.

As described above, the mobile object server receives information fromthe target mobile object in the region assigned to the mobile objectserver, and generates the mobile object agent for the target mobileobject if there is no mobile object server among the plurality of mobileobject servers that is executing the mobile object agent.

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary configuration of the system 100, according toan embodiment of the present invention. In the system 100 according tothe present embodiment, components that have substantially the sameoperation as components of the system 100 according to the presentembodiment shown in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals, anddescriptions thereof are omitted. In this embodiment, each subsystem 200includes an event server 210, mobile object server 220, an object server230, and a passenger server 240. However, other embodiments are alsopossible, in which each subsystem 200 comprises any combination ofsingles or multiples of each server. In other embodiments, the system100 may manage allocation of object agents of the object server 230 andpassenger agents of the passenger server 240 in the subsystem 200. Forexample, the gateway apparatus 160 may change allocation of theobject/passenger agents to the subsystems 200 to rectify the imbalanceof data processing loads among the subsystems 200.

In the embodiment described above, the event server 210 may manageallocated event agents. In other embodiments, the system 100 may manageallocation of event agents to the event servers 210. For example, thegateway apparatus 160 may change allocation of event agents to the eventservers 210 to rectify the imbalance of loads of processing events amongthe event servers 210. In the embodiment described above, the eventserver 210 causes each event agent to manage allocated divided areaderived from a region. In other embodiment, the event server 210 causesat least one event agent to manage specific information regarding events(e.g., cross section of roads or other specific function(s) of a map,or, hurricane or other disaster/accident).

In the manner described, the system 100 according to the presentembodiment may be operable to assist with the movement of a plurality ofmobile objects 10 in the geographical space. Here, there are cases wherethe information received by the receiving section 150 includes falsifiedinformation, information including a virus or the like, informationadding an attack on the system 100, and the like. The hardware andsoftware installed in mobile objects 10 is often primitive, and caninclude hardware or software with specification that have been madepublic to a certain standard.

Accordingly, it can be easy to change or alter such hardware andsoftware. Furthermore, there are cases where viruses, malware, or thelike are installed in the hardware or software that is installed in themobile objects 10, and transmission of falsified data attacks on thesystem 100, or the like can occur regardless of the will of the user. Itcan be difficult for the system 100 to handle information received fromsuch a mobile object 10 as information with low reliability. Forexample, the system 100 can detect abnormalities based on similarity topast statistical information, known attack patterns, or the like, but inthe case of an unknown attack, falsified data that resembles actualdata, or the like, this detection becomes difficult.

Therefore, the system 100 according to the present embodiment may beoperable to judge the reliability of information received from a mobileobject 10 while assisting the mobile objects 10, and to prevent a dropin the stability and reliability of the system 100. The followingdescribes such a system 100.

FIG. 15 shows a third exemplary configuration of the system 100according to the present embodiment. In the system 100 according to thepresent embodiment, components having substantially the same operationas components in the system 100 according to the embodiment shown inFIG. 3 and FIG. 14 are given the same reference numerals, anddescriptions thereof are omitted. The system 100 of the third exemplaryconfiguration may be operable to receive verification results obtainedby verifying each mobile object 10 from among a plurality of mobileobjects 10, and to judge the reliability of the mobile object 10. Thesystem 100 of the third exemplary configuration includes mobile objects10, a first mobile object 12, and a second mobile object 14.

Each mobile object 10 may transmit a verification result to the system100 every time the mobile object 10 is started up, at predeterminedintervals, and every time a certain distance is travelled. Furthermore,each mobile object 10 may transmit a verification result to the system100 in response to instructions from the system 100. The verificationresults transmitted by the mobile objects 10 are described furtherbelow. The subsystem 200 according to the present embodiment may beoperable to receive each verification result from the plurality ofmobile objects 10 while managing the mobile objects 10 in thegeographical space to be managed, and to judge the reliability of thesemobile objects 10.

In the present embodiment, a mobile object 10 that is the target for thereliability judgment by the subsystem 200 is set as a first mobileobject 12. The mobile object server 220 of the subsystem 200 furtherincludes an acquiring section 310, a storage section 320, a reliabilityjudging section 330, an information processing section 340, and a mobileobject determining section 350.

The acquiring section 310 may be operable to acquire a verificationresult received from the first mobile object 12. The acquiring section310 may be operable to acquire information relating to the first mobileobject 12 that transmitted the verification result. For example, theacquiring section 310 acquires information relating to the first mobileobject 12 from a mobile object 10 that is different from the firstmobile object 12 that transmitted the verification result. Furthermore,the acquiring section 310 may acquire information relating to the firstmobile object 12 that transmitted the verification result from amonitoring apparatus or the like provided on a route on which the firstmobile object 12 moves. In this case, the system 100 may be operable tocommunicate with the monitoring apparatus. This monitoring apparatus maybe a camera or the like that monitors road conditions, trafficinformation, or the like.

The storage section 320 may be operable to store information acquired bythe acquiring section 310. For example, the storage section 320 stores ahistory of the verification results of the first mobile object 12. Thestorage section 320 may store a history of information relating to thefirst mobile object 12. The storage section 320 may store map datamanaged by the subsystem 200. The storage section 320 may store thehistory of the verification results and/or the information relating tothe first mobile object 12 in association with a position in this mapdata.

The storage section 320 may store each of intermediate data, calculationresults, parameters, or the like that are generated by or used in theprocesses by which the subsystem 200 manages the plurality of mobileobjects 10 including a plurality of the first mobile objects 12. Inresponse to a request from each component in the system 100, the storagesection 320 may supply the source of the request with the stored data.

The reliability judging section 330 may be operable to judge thereliability of the first mobile object 12 based on the verificationresults of the first mobile object 12. The reliability judging section330 may judge the reliability of data received from the first mobileobject 12 based on the verification result history of the first mobileobject 12. The reliability judging section 330 may judge the reliabilityof the data received from the first mobile object 12 by comparing theverification result of the first mobile object 12 to the informationrelating to the first mobile object 12.

The information processing section 340 may be operable to performinformation processing for each of the plurality of mobile objects 10.The information processing section 340 may perform informationprocessing for a plurality of mobile objects 10, according to thereliability of the first mobile object 12. For example, in response to ajudgment that the reliability of the first mobile object 12 is low, theinformation processing section 340 performs information processing for aplurality of mobile objects 10 while excluding the existence of thisfirst mobile object 12. The information processing section 340 may beoperable to perform information processing relating to the mobile objectagent corresponding to each of a plurality of mobile objects 10.

The information processing section 340 may be operable to assist aplurality of mobile objects 10. The information processing section 340may assist a plurality of mobile objects 10 while excluding the firstmobile object 12, if the first mobile object 12 is not a real object oris an object that transmits data to attack the system. In other words,the information processing section 340 may assist a plurality of mobileobjects 10 while excluding the first mobile object 12 without needing totransmit notifications and/or instructions corresponding to theinformation of the first mobile object 12.

The mobile object determining section 350 may be operable to determine amobile object for which the reliability judgment is to be made. Themobile object determining section 350 may be operable to issueinstructions for the output of a verification result to the determinedmobile object. For example, the mobile object determining section 350determines a first mobile object 12 as the mobile object for which thereliability judgment is to be made, from among a plurality of mobileobjects 10, and instructs this first mobile object 12 to output averification result. The mobile object determining section 350 maydetermine a mobile object for which the reliability judgment result islow or unknown, from among a plurality of mobile objects for which thereliability judgment has been made, to be a mobile object for which thereliability is to be judged.

In the manner described above, the system 100 of the third exemplaryconfiguration judges the reliability of information received from thefirst mobile object 12 based on the verification result of the firstmobile object 12. In other words, the first mobile object 12 accordingto the present embodiment may be operable to transmit the verificationresult to the corresponding mobile object agent among the plurality ofmobile object agents executed by the information processing section 340.The following describes such a first mobile object 12 and a subsystem200 that manages this first mobile object 12.

FIG. 16 shows a schematic exemplary configuration relating to the datatransmitting and receiving of the system 100 of the third exemplaryconfiguration according to the present embodiment. FIG. 16 shows anexample in which the schematics of the data transmission and receptionbetween the subsystem 200, the first mobile object 12, and a secondmobile object 14 are shown. The system 100 of the third exemplaryconfiguration may include at least some first mobile objects 12 andsecond mobile objects 14.

The subsystem 200 may have substantially the same configuration as thesubsystem 200 described in FIG. 15. FIG. 16 shows an example of a mobileobject agent that is executed by the information processing section 340.FIG. 16 shows an example in which a mobile object agent MOA1 correspondsto the first mobile object 12 and a mobile object agent MOA2 correspondsto the second mobile object 14. In other words, the subsystem 200includes a mobile object server 220 that is capable of assisting withthe movement of a plurality of mobile objects 10 including a firstmobile object 12 and a second mobile object 14.

The first mobile object 12 is an example of a mobile object that is atarget for the reliability judgment by the subsystem 200. The firstmobile object 12 is a mobile object for which the subsystem 200 makes areliability judgment, from among the plurality of mobile objects 10. Inother words, each mobile object 10 may be operable to act as the firstmobile object 12. The first mobile object 12 includes a sensor 410, adata acquiring section 420, a first transmitting section 430, averification result receiving section 440, and a first data transmittingsection 450.

The sensor 410 may be operable to measure a state or the like of thefirst mobile object 12. A plurality of the sensors 410 may be providedin the first mobile object 12. The sensor 410 may detect the speed,position, remaining amount of fuel, remaining battery life, enginetemperature, external temperature, or the like of the first mobileobject 12. The sensor 410 may detect another mobile object using animage, laser, microwave, or the like.

The data acquiring section 420 may be operable to acquire measurementdata of the sensor 410. The data acquiring section 420 may be operableto acquire information transmitted from the subsystem 200. In otherwords, the data acquiring section 420 may acquire transmission data fromthe corresponding mobile object agent MOA1. The data acquiring section420 may acquire output instructions for the verification resulttransmitted from the mobile object determining section 350. In responseto output instructions for a verification result, the data acquiringsection 420 may transmit a request for verification of this first mobileobject 12 and the acquired measurement data from the first transmittingsection 430 to another mobile object.

The first transmitting section 430 may be operable to transmit themeasurement data and the request for verification of the first mobileobject 12 to the second mobile object 14. The first transmitting section430 may transmit the measurement data and the request with a mobileobject adjacent to the first mobile object 12, from among a plurality ofmobile objects 10, serving as the second mobile object 14. Furthermore,if a transmission destination is included in the verification resultoutput request, the first transmitting section 430 may transmit themeasurement data and the request with this transmission destination asthe second mobile object 14.

The verification result receiving section 440 receives the verificationresult of the second mobile object 14. If the verification result cannotbe received from the second mobile object 14, the verification resultreceiving section 440 may set a result of communication being impossibleas the verification result.

The first data transmitting section 450 may be operable to transmit theverification result received from the verification result receivingsection 440 to the mobile object server 220. The first data transmittingsection 450 may be operable to transmit measurement data of the sensor410 acquired by the data acquiring section 420 to the mobile objectserver 220. In this case, for example, the mobile object agent MOA1communicates with the data acquiring section 420 and the first datatransmitting section 450 of the first mobile object 12, and assists withthe movement of the first mobile object 12. In the manner describedabove, in response to verification result output instructions from thesubsystem 200, the first mobile object 12 may make a request forverification of this first mobile object 12 to the second mobile object14 and respond to this subsystem 200 with the verification result fromthe second mobile object 14.

The second mobile object 14 may be operable to verify the measurementdata received from the first mobile object 12, in response to a requestfrom the first mobile object 12. The second mobile object 14 includes asensor 412, a first acquiring section 460, a second acquiring section470, a second data transmitting section 480, a verifying section 490,and a verification result transmitting section 510.

The sensor 412 may be substantially the same sensor as the sensor 410provided in the first mobile object 12. In other words, the sensor 412may be operable to measure a state or the like of the second mobileobject 14. The sensor 412 may detect another mobile object or the like.The second mobile object 14 may detect the first mobile object 12, ifthe second mobile object 14 is near this first mobile object 12. In thiscase, the second mobile object 14 may measure the position, speed, andthe like of the first mobile object 12.

The first acquiring section 460 may be operable to receive measurementdata transmitted from the first transmitting section 430 and a requestfor verification of the first mobile object 12. In other words, thefirst acquiring section 460 may be operable to acquire measurement dataobtained by the first mobile object 12 measuring the first mobile object12, using the sensor 410 of the first mobile object 12.

The second acquiring section 470 may be operable to acquire themeasurement data of the sensor 412. The second acquiring section 470 mayacquire the detection data obtained by the sensor 412 detecting thefirst mobile object 12, in response to a verification request of thefirst mobile object 12 received from the first mobile object 12. Inother words, the second acquiring section 470 may be operable to acquiredetection data obtained by the second mobile object 14 detecting thefirst mobile object 12 in response to a request from the outside, usingthe sensor of the second mobile object 14. If there is no verificationrequest from the first mobile object 12, the second acquiring section470 may perform an operation that is substantially the same as that ofthe data acquiring section 420 provided in the first mobile object 12.

The second data transmitting section 480 may be operable to transmit thedetection data acquired by the second acquiring section 470 to themobile object server 220. The second data transmitting section 480 maybe operable to transmit the state or the like of the second mobileobject 14 acquired by the second acquiring section 470 to the mobileobject server 220. In this case, for example, the mobile object agentMOA2 communicates with the second acquiring section 470 and the seconddata transmitting section 480 of the second mobile object 14 and assistswith the movement of the second mobile object 14.

The verifying section 490 may be operable to verify the validity of themeasurement data using the detection data of the first mobile object 12.The verifying section 490 may be operable to verify the validity of themeasurement data using the detection data acquired by the secondacquiring section 470, in response to the first acquiring section 460acquiring the measurement data and the verification request of the firstmobile object 12. The verifying section 490 may generate theverification result by comparing measurement results of measurementitems that are substantially the same in the measurement data and thedetection data. The verifying section 490 may generate the verificationresult by referencing the measurement result according to the firstmobile object 12 and the measurement result according to the secondmobile object 14.

The verification result transmitting section 510 may be operable totransmit the verification result of the verifying section 490 to thefirst mobile object 12 that transmitted the verification request. Theverification result transmitting section 510 may be operable to includea signature of the second mobile object 14 in the verification resultand send this to the first mobile object 12. The signature of the secondmobile object 14 may be a code or the like set between the second mobileobject 14 and the system 100 of the third exemplary configuration. Inthe manner described above, in response to a verification request fromthe first mobile object 12, the second mobile object 14 may performverification by measuring the second mobile object 14 and respond tothis second mobile object 14 with the verification result.

The system 100 of the third exemplary configuration described aboveverifies the measurement result according to the first mobile object 12by using an object measurement result according to the second mobileobject 14, and can therefore easily judge the reliability of the dataoutput by the first mobile object 12. The following describes theoperation of such a system 100 of the third exemplary configuration.

FIG. 17 shows a portion of an operational flow of the system 100according to the present embodiment. The mobile object server 220according to the present embodiment may be operable to judge thereliability of data received from each mobile object 10 while assistingthe plurality of mobile objects 10 in the geographical space, byperforming the operational flow shown in FIG. 17. In other words, theoperational flow shown in FIG. 17 may be performed by the mobile objectserver 220 in addition to or instead of the moving object serverprocessing (S660) of the mobile object server described in FIG. 6 andFIG. 13.

First, at S702, the system 100 may communicate with the plurality ofmobile objects 10 moving in the geographical space. For example, thesystem 100 may acquire one or more pieces of sensor information, fromamong sensor information detected by sensors mounted respectively in theplurality of mobile objects 10. In other words, the mobile object agentmay acquire sensor information from corresponding mobile objects 10.Furthermore, in response to the power source or engine of a mobileobject 10 beginning operation (i.e. starting up), the correspondingmobile object agent may begin communication. For example, in response tothe startup of the first mobile object 12, the mobile object agent MOA1corresponding to the first mobile object 12 begins communicating withthe first mobile object 12.

Next, at S704, the mobile object determining section 350 may determinethe mobile object for which the reliability judgment is to be made. Forexample, in response to the first mobile object 12 starting up, themobile object determining section 350 may determine that this firstmobile object 12 is the mobile object for which the reliability judgmentis to be made. Furthermore, the mobile object determining section 350may determine that a mobile object whose reliability was low in pastjudgment results is the mobile object for which the reliability judgmentis to be made. The mobile object determining section 350 may determinethat a mobile object whose reliability was questionable in past judgmentresults is the mobile object for which the reliability judgment is to bemade. The mobile object determining section 350 may instruct the firstmobile object 12 to output a verification result. The mobile objectdetermining section 350 may issue the instructions for the output of theverification result via the mobile object agent MOA1.

Here, the mobile object determining section 350 may determine a secondmobile object 14 to verify the measurement data of the first mobileobject 12, among the plurality of mobile objects 10. The mobile objectdetermining section 350 may set a mobile object having higherreliability, among the mobile objects travelling near the first mobileobject 12, to be the second mobile object 14. The mobile objectdetermining section 350 may set an automobile that patrols a road withthe objective of judging reliability, and therefore is already clearlyreliable, to be the second mobile object 14. If the second mobile object14 has been determined, the mobile object determining section 350 maysupply the first mobile object 12 with verification result outputinstructions along with the information of this second mobile object 14.

Next, at S706, the first mobile object 12 may measure its own positioninformation, speed, direction of progression, or the like, in responseto the instructions of the mobile object determining section 350. Then,at S708, the first mobile object 12 may be operable to transmit themeasurement data and the verification request of the first mobile object12 to the second mobile object 14, in response to these instructions. Ifthe information of the second mobile object 14 has been received fromthe mobile object determining section 350, the first mobile object 12may transmit the measurement data and the verification request of thefirst mobile object 12 to this second mobile object 14. If theinformation of the second mobile object 14 has not been received, thefirst mobile object 12 may transmit the measurement data and theverification request of the first mobile object 12 while using a mobileobject travelling nearby as the second mobile object 14.

Next, at S710, the second mobile object 14 may verify the measurementdata of the first mobile object 12, in response to the verificationrequest. The second mobile object 14 may acquire the detection dataobtained by detecting the first mobile object 12, for example. Thesecond mobile object 14 may verify the measurement data by comparing thedetection data to the measurement data acquired from the first mobileobject 12.

Next, at S712, the second mobile object 14 may transmit the verificationresult to the first mobile object 12. The second mobile object 14 maytransmit the verification result including the signature of the secondmobile object 14 to the first mobile object 12. Furthermore, the secondmobile object 14 may transmit the detection data to the mobile objectserver 220. For example, the second mobile object 14 transmits thedetection data to the mobile object agent MOA2.

Next, at S714, the first mobile object 12 transmits the verificationresult received from the second mobile object 14 to the mobile objectserver 220. The first mobile object 12 transmits the detection data tothe mobile object agent MOA1, for example.

Next, at S716, the reliability judging section 330 may judge thereliability of the first mobile object 12 based on the verificationresult obtained by verifying the measurement data of the first mobileobject 12. The reliability judging section 330 may judge the reliabilityof the first mobile object 12 by comparing the verification resultreceived from the first mobile object 12 and the detection data receivedfrom the second mobile object 14. Furthermore, the reliability judgingsection 330 may judge the reliability of the first mobile object 12according to the verification result of the first mobile object 12.

Next, at S718, the system 100 may assist the plurality of mobile objects10 according to the judgment result of the reliability of the firstmobile object 12. If the reliability of the first mobile object 12 isgreater than or equal to a predetermined first reliability, the system100 may transmit data to and receive data from the first mobile object12 in the same manner as the other mobile objects 10.

If the reliability of the first mobile object 12 is less than apredetermined second reliability, the system 100 may limit the sendingand receiving of the data to and from the first mobile object 12 to bewithin a predetermined range. Furthermore, the system 100 may registerthe first mobile object 12 as an automobile requiring caution, andmonitor the data sending and receiving. The system 100 may instructanother mobile object 10 to limit communication with the first mobileobject 12. The system 100 does not need to transfer the data receivedfrom the first mobile object 12 to other mobile objects 10.

If the reliability of the first mobile object 12 is greater than orequal to the predetermined second reliability and less than the firstreliability, the system 100 may register the first mobile object 12 asan automobile that is questionable and monitor the sending and receivingof data. The system 100 may issue instructions for verification resultsa plurality of times for automobiles that require caution andautomobiles that are questionable. In this case, the reliability judgingsection 330 may be operable to judge the reliability of the first mobileobject 12 based on the plurality of verification results obtained byverifying the measurement data of the first mobile object 12.

Next, at S720, if the reliability judgments of the mobile objects are tocontinue (S720: No), the system 100 may return to S702 and judge thereliability of a mobile object. If there are no more mobile objects forwhich the reliability judgment is to be made or if the next process isto be prioritized (S720: Yes), the system 100 may end the reliabilityevaluation.

The system 100 of the third exemplary configuration described above maybe operable to judge the reliability of data received from the firstmobile object 12, according to whether a verification result of thefirst mobile object 12, which is its own verification result output toitself, contradicts the detection data of the second mobile object 14.In this way, the system 100 can objectively evaluate the data receivedfrom the first mobile object 12. Furthermore, the system 100 can preventthe transmission of falsified data against the will of the useroperating the first mobile object 12, the occurrence of attacks on thesystem, or the like. In other words, the system 100 can prevent theoperation from becoming unstable and prevent a drop in the reliabilityof the operation, which would be caused by such attacks or the like.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary operational flow of the first mobile object12 according to the present embodiment. The system 100 of the thirdexemplary configuration may be operable to verify the validity of thedata transmitted by the first mobile object 12, by having the firstmobile object 12 perform the operational flow shown in FIG. 18.

First, at S802, in response to the power source being turned ON and/orthe engine starting up, the first mobile object 12 may notify the system100 about this startup. For example, the first mobile object 12 notifiesthe corresponding mobile object agent MOA1 about this startup.

Next, at S804, the first mobile object 12 may wait for the verificationresult output instructions. If the wait for the verification resultoutput instructions is continuing (S804: No), the first mobile object 12may move while being assisted by the system 100. If the verificationresult output instructions are received (S804: Yes), the first mobileobject 12 may attempt to communicate with the second mobile object 14 atS806.

If information of the second mobile object 14 is included in theverification result output instructions, the first mobile object 12 mayattempt to communicate with this second mobile object 14. If informationof the second mobile object 14 is not included in the verificationresult output instructions, the first mobile object 12 may attemptcommunication using a mobile object travelling nearby as the secondmobile object 14.

If communication with the second mobile object 14 is achieved (S806:Yes), at S808, the first mobile object 12 may transmit the measurementdata and the verification request of the first mobile object 12 to thesecond mobile object 14. Next, at S810, the first mobile object 12 maytransmit the measurement data and the verification result received fromthe second mobile object 14 to the system 100. For example, the firstmobile object 12 may transmit the measurement data and the verificationresult to the mobile object agent MOA1.

If communication with the second mobile object 14 cannot be achieved(S806: No), at S812, the first mobile object 12 may transmit themeasurement data to the system 100. For example, the first mobile object12 may transmit the measurement data to the mobile object agent MOA1.

If the first mobile object 12 continues travelling (S814: No), theprocess returns to S804 and the first mobile object 12 may wait for thenext verification result output instructions. If the wait for theverification result output instructions continues, the first mobileobject 12 may move while being assisted by the system 100. If thetravelling is stopped (S814: Yes), the first mobile object 12 may endthe communication with the system 100. The first mobile object 12 mayend the travelling while waiting for the output instructions.

FIG. 19 shows an exemplary operational flow of the second mobile object14 according to the present embodiment. The second mobile object 14 mayverify the validity of the measurement data of the first mobile object12 by performing the operational flow shown in FIG. 19.

First, at S902, the second mobile object 14 may receive the measurementdata and the verification request of the first mobile object 12 from thefirst mobile object 12. Next, at S904, the second mobile object 14 mayselect one measurement item within the measurement data. The secondmobile object 14 may be operable to, if the selected measurement itemcan be detected by this second mobile object 14 (S906: Yes), verify themeasurement item. For example, the second mobile object 14 is operableto verify the speed, position, movement direction, and the like of thefirst mobile object 12. In this case, at S906, the second mobile object14 detects this measurement item of the first mobile object 12.

Next, at S908, if the measurement data and the detection data matchwithin a predetermined range (S908: Yes), the second mobile object 14may set the measurement data as a valid value. In this case, at S910,the second mobile object 14 may set the verification result of thismeasurement item to be “Valid.” If the measurement data and thedetection data do not match within a predetermined range (S908: No), thesecond mobile object 14 may set this measurement data to be an invalidvalue. In this case, at S912, the second mobile object 14 may set theverification result of this measurement item to be “Invalid.”

The second mobile object 14 may be operable to, if the selectedmeasurement item cannot be detected by this second mobile object 14(S906: No), set this measurement item to be unverifiable. For example,the second mobile object 14 may set the remaining amount of fuel,remaining battery life, temperature, or the like of the first mobileobject 12 to be unverifiable. In this case, at S914, the second mobileobject 14 may set this measurement item to be “Unknown.”

The second mobile object 14 may return to S904 and repeat theverification operation (S916: Yes) until there are no more measurementitems in the measurement data. If there are no more measurement items inthe measurement data (S916: No), at S918, the second mobile object 14may add its signature to the verification result. Next, at S920, thesecond mobile object 14 may respond to the first mobile object 12 withthe verification result. Furthermore, the second mobile object 14 maytransmit the detection data used in the verification to the system 100.For example, the second mobile object 14 may transmit the detection datato the mobile object agent MOA2.

FIG. 20 shows an exemplary operational flow of the reliability judgingsection 330 according to the present embodiment. The reliability judgingsection 330 may judge the reliability of data received from the firstmobile object 12, by performing the operational flow shown in FIG. 20.In other words, the operational flow shown in FIG. 20 is an example of adetailed operational flow of the operation of S716 described in FIG. 17.

First, at S1002, the reliability judging section 330 may check whetherthe signature is included in the verification result received from thefirst mobile object 12. If the signature is included in the verificationresult (S1002: Yes), at S1004, the reliability judging section 330 maycheck whether the verification result and the detection data receivedfrom the second mobile object 14 contradict each other. If all of theverification results and pieces of detection data match (S1004: Yes), atS1006, the reliability judging section 330 may check the number of“Invalid” instances included in the measurement items of theverification results.

If the number of “Invalid” instances is less than a predetermined numberN1 (S1006: Yes), at S1008, the reliability judging section 330 may checkwhether a “Valid” instance is included in the measurement items of theverification result. If a “Valid” instance is included in theverification result (S1008: Yes), at S1010, the reliability judgingsection 330 may add a prescribed value V1 to the reliability and end thejudgment. Here, the prescribed value V1 may be a predetermined numericalvalue. If a “Valid” instance is not included in the verification result(S1008: No), the reliability judging section 330 may end the processwithout changing the reliability value.

If the number of “Invalid” instances is greater than or equal to thepredetermined number N1 (S1006: No), at S1012, the reliability judgingsection 330 may subtract a prescribed value V2 from the reliability andend the judgment. Here, the prescribed value V2 may be a predeterminednumerical value. The absolute values of the value V1 added to thereliability and the value V2 subtracted from the reliability may be thesame or may be different. If there is a contradiction between theverification result and the detection data (S1004: No), at S1012, thereliability judging section 330 may subtract a prescribed value from thereliability and end the judgment.

If the signature is not included in the verification result (S1002: No),at S1014, the reliability judging section 330 may check the trafficstate on the road where the first mobile object 12 is travelling. If thenumber of other mobile objects passing by on the road where the firstmobile object 12 is travelling is less than a predetermined number N2(S1014: Yes), the reliability judging section 330 may end the judgmentwithout changing the reliability value.

If the number of other mobile objects passing by on the road where thefirst mobile object 12 is travelling is greater than or equal to thepredetermined number N2 (S1014: No), at S1012, the reliability judgingsection 330 may subtract a prescribed value from the reliability and endthe judgment. In the manner described above, the reliability judgingsection 330 may perform an update by adding to or subtracting from thereliability based on the verification result and the detection data. Bysequentially performing the reliability judgment for each of theplurality of mobile objects 10, the system 100 of the third exemplaryconfiguration can judge whether the received data from each mobileobject 10 can be trusted.

The system 100 of the third exemplary configuration described above isan example in which the second mobile object 14 verifies the measurementdata of the first mobile object 12 and transmits the verification resultof the first mobile object 12, but it is not limited to this. Forexample, the mobile object server 220 may verify the measurement data ofthe first mobile object 12. The following describes such a system 100.

FIG. 21 shows a fourth exemplary configuration of the system 100according to the present embodiment. In the system 100 according to thepresent embodiment, components having substantially the same operationas components in the system 100 of the third exemplary configurationshown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are given the same reference numerals, anddescriptions thereof are omitted.

In the first mobile object 12 of the fourth exemplary configuration, thefirst data transmitting section 450 may be operable to transmit themeasurement data obtained by measuring the first mobile object 12 to themobile object server 220. Furthermore, the second mobile object 14 maybe operable to, in response to the second data transmitting sectionreceiving the verification request from the first mobile object 12,transmit the detection data obtained by detecting the first mobileobject 12 to the mobile object server 220. In this case, the secondmobile object 14 may include a sensor 412, a data acquiring section 422operable to acquire the measurement data of the sensor 412, and a seconddata transmitting section 480.

The mobile object server 220 of the fourth exemplary modification mayinclude the first acquiring section 460, the second acquiring section470, and the verifying section 490. The first acquiring section 460 maybe operable to receive measurement data transmitted from the first datatransmitting section 450. The first acquiring section 460 may be amobile object agent MOA1. The second acquiring section 470 may beoperable to acquire the detection data obtained by detecting the firstmobile object 12. The second acquiring section 470 may be the mobileobject agent MOA2.

The verifying section 490 may be operable to verify the validity of themeasurement data, in response to the first acquiring section 460acquiring the measurement data and the second acquiring section 470acquiring the detection data. The reliability judging section 330 mayjudge the reliability of the data received from the first mobile object12, based on the verification result from the verifying section 490, themeasurement data from the first acquiring section 460, and the detectiondata from the second acquiring section 470. In the manner describedabove, the system 100 of the fourth exemplary configuration can judgethe reliability of the data received from the first mobile object 12, inthe same manner as the system 100 of the third exemplary configuration.

The system 100 according to the present embodiment described above is anexample in which the second mobile object 14 detects the first mobileobject 12 and outputs the detection data, but it is not limited to this.For example, a monitoring apparatus or the like installed on a road maydetect the first mobile object 12. In this case, the monitoringapparatus may include the sensor 412, the first acquiring section 460,the second acquiring section 470, the second data transmitting section480, the verifying section 490, and the verification result transmittingsection 510. Furthermore, the monitoring apparatus may include thesensor 412, a data acquiring section operable to acquire the measurementdata of the sensor 412, and the second data transmitting section 480,and the mobile object server 220 may include the first acquiring section460, the second acquiring section 470, and the verifying section 490.

Instead, the first mobile object 12 may communicate with mobile objectsof another system, mobile objects that do not access a system assistingwith movement, or the like. In this case, the mobile objects that arenot assisted by the system 100 may be operable to detect the firstmobile object 12.

An example of the first mobile object 12 according to the presentembodiment that is described above includes the sensor 410, the dataacquiring section 420, the first transmitting section 430, theverification result receiving section 440, and the first datatransmitting section 450 in FIG. 16. Here, the first mobile object 12may be any mobile object 10 among the plurality of mobile objects, andtherefore may further include the first acquiring section 460, theverifying section 490, and the verification result transmitting section510. Similarly, the second mobile object 14 may further include thefirst transmitting section 430 and the verification result receivingsection 440.

FIG. 22 shows an exemplary hardware configuration of a computeraccording to the embodiment of the invention. A program that isinstalled in the computer 800 can cause the computer 800 to function asor perform operations associated with apparatuses of the embodiments ofthe present invention or one or more sections (including modules,components, elements, etc.) thereof, and/or cause the computer 800 toperform processes of the embodiments of the present invention or stepsthereof. Such a program may be executed by the CPU 800-12 to cause thecomputer 800 to perform certain operations associated with some or allof the blocks of flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

The computer 800 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU800-12, a RAM 800-14, a graphics controller 800-16, and a display device800-18, which are mutually connected by a host controller 800-10. Thecomputer 800 also includes input/output units such as a communicationinterface 800-22, a hard disk drive 800-24, a DVD-ROM drive 800-26 andan IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 800-10 viaan input/output controller 800-20. The computer also includes legacyinput/output units such as a ROM 800-30 and a keyboard 800-42, which areconnected to the input/output controller 800-20 through an input/outputchip 800-40.

The CPU 800-12 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 800-30and the RAM 800-14, thereby controlling each unit. The graphicscontroller 800-16 obtains image data generated by the CPU 800-12 on aframe buffer or the like provided in the RAM 800-14 or in itself, andcauses the image data to be displayed on the display device 800-18.

The communication interface 800-22 communicates with other electronicdevices via a network 800-50. The hard disk drive 800-24 stores programsand data used by the CPU 800-12 within the computer 800. The DVD-ROMdrive 800-26 reads the programs or the data from the DVD-ROM 800-01, andprovides the hard disk drive 800-24 with the programs or the data viathe RAM 800-14. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an ICcard, and/or writes programs and data into the IC card.

The ROM 800-30 stores therein a boot program or the like executed by thecomputer 800 at the time of activation, and/or a program depending onthe hardware of the computer 800. The input/output chip 800-40 may alsoconnect various input/output units via a parallel port, a serial port, akeyboard port, a mouse port, and the like to the input/output controller800-20.

A program is provided by computer readable media such as the DVD-ROM800-01 or the IC card. The program is read from the computer readablemedia, installed into the hard disk drive 800-24, RAM 800-14, or ROM800-30, which are also examples of computer readable media, and executedby the CPU 800-12. The information processing described in theseprograms is read into the computer 800, resulting in cooperation betweena program and the above-mentioned various types of hardware resources.An apparatus or method may be constituted by realizing the operation orprocessing of information in accordance with the usage of the computer800.

For example, when communication is performed between the computer 800and an external device, the CPU 800-12 may execute a communicationprogram loaded onto the RAM 800-14 to instruct communication processingto the communication interface 800-22, based on the processing describedin the communication program. The communication interface 800-22, undercontrol of the CPU 800-12, reads transmission data stored on atransmission buffering region provided in a recording medium such as theRAM 800-14, the hard disk drive 800-24, the DVD-ROM 800-01, or the ICcard, and transmits the read transmission data to network 800-50 orwrites reception data received from network 800-50 to a receptionbuffering region or the like provided on the recording medium.

In addition, the CPU 800-12 may cause all or a necessary portion of afile or a database to be read into the RAM 800-14, the file or thedatabase having been stored in an external recording medium such as thehard disk drive 800-24, the DVD-ROM drive 800-26 (DVD-ROM 800-01), theIC card, etc., and perform various types of processing on the data onthe RAM 800-14. The CPU 800-12 may then write back the processed data tothe external recording medium.

Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data,tables, and databases, may be stored in the recording medium to undergoinformation processing. The CPU 800-12 may perform various types ofprocessing on the data read from the RAM 800-14, which includes varioustypes of operations, processing of information, condition judging,conditional branch, unconditional branch, search/replace of information,etc., as described throughout this disclosure and designated by aninstruction sequence of programs, and writes the result back to the RAM800-14. In addition, the CPU 800-12 may search for information in afile, a database, etc., in the recording medium. For example, when aplurality of entries, each having an attribute value of a firstattribute is associated with an attribute value of a second attribute,are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 800-12 may search for anentry matching the condition whose attribute value of the firstattribute is designated, from among the plurality of entries, and readsthe attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, therebyobtaining the attribute value of the second attribute associated withthe first attribute satisfying the predetermined condition.

The above-explained program or software modules may be stored in thecomputer readable media on or near the computer 800. In addition, arecording medium such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a serversystem connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internetcan be used as the computer readable media, thereby providing theprogram to the computer 800 via the network.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

While steps of the disclosed method and components of the disclosedsystems and environments have been sequentially or serially identifiedusing numbers and letters, such numbering or lettering is not anindication that such steps must be performed in the order recited, andis merely provided to facilitate clear referencing of the method'ssteps. Furthermore, steps of the method may be performed in parallel toperform their described functionality.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described, thetechnical scope of the invention is not limited to the above describedembodiments. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that variousalterations and improvements can be added to the above-describedembodiments. It is also apparent from the scope of the claims that theembodiments added with such alterations or improvements can be includedin the technical scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a first acquiringsection operable to acquire measurement data obtained by a first mobileobject measuring the first mobile object, using a sensor of the firstmobile object; a second acquiring section operable to acquire detectiondata obtained by a second mobile object detecting the first mobileobject in response to a request from outside, using a sensor of thesecond mobile object; a first transmitting section of the first mobileobject operable to transmit the measurement data and the request to thesecond mobile object; the first mobile object includes a first datatransmitting section operable to transmit the verification result to amobile object server; the second mobile object includes the firstacquiring section, the second acquiring section, and a verifyingsection, the verifying section is operable to, in response to the firstacquiring section acquiring the measurement data and the request, verifythe validity of the measurement data using the detection data acquiredby the second acquiring section, and the second mobile object furtherincludes a verification result transmitting section operable to transmita verification result of the verifying section to the first mobileobject, wherein the verification result transmitting section may beoperable to include a signature of the second mobile object in theverification result of the verifying section and transmit theverification result including the signature to the first mobile object,the second mobile object includes a second data transmitting sectionoperable to transmit the detection data acquired by the second acquiringsection to the mobile object server; and the mobile object serveroperable to assist with movement of a plurality of mobile objectsincluding the first mobile object and the second mobile object, themobile object server includes a reliability judging section operable tojudge the reliability of the first mobile object based on one or more ofthe verification results obtained by verifying the measurement data ofthe first mobile object, wherein the mobile object server includes amobile object determining section operable to determine a mobile objectfor which the reliability is to be judged, and the first mobile objectis operable to transmit the measurement data and the request to thesecond mobile object, in response to instructions from the mobile objectdetermining section; and the verifying section operable to verifyvalidity of the measurement data using the detection data.